Browsing Through Aladdin’s Bookstore
Anybody who reads the books section of the New York Times or The Guardian, or any book blog, will no doubt be familiar with the incessant articles talking of the imminent death of books and the book publishing industry as we know it.
Even if this is true in the western world, and that is debatable, I have often found myself thinking that this does not seem to be the case at all in Korea. The bookstore at the bus terminal is frequently busy, with people happily reading books selected from the shelves, as well as actually buying them. I have always found it frustrating that the store’s English book section is rather lackluster, for I miss being able to walk into my favorite bookstore back home and breathe in all the books. To spend time perusing, taking books from the shelves, holding them, and reading them, is what I enjoy. Bookstores are one of the best places to come upon books by pure serendipity, as the cover of a book you did not know about might catch your eye. Also, having conversations and sharing your passion with the staff, who are more often than not strangers, but still fellow book lovers nonetheless, is wonderful. Purchasing books from the Internet is convenient and necessary in Korea, not to mention cheaper, but it is just not the same as shopping in a real bookstore.
Thus, I was both happy and surprised when I heard that a new secondhand bookstore had recently opened up downtown. It is called Aladin and located next to the Starbucks/ bookstore, just around the corner from the YMCA. As well as used books, it sells CDs and DVDs. It’s a Korean chain store, and the Gwangju store opened on October 27th. Aladin has had an online store since 1999, and it is one of the biggest online bookstores in Korea, known for its cheap prices and wide range of books. The online store sells new and used books, as well as e-books and DVDs. You can find it at aladin.co.kr.
I recently went to the store to have a look. I got to the entrance and was delighted in seeing the books lining the walls. I then descended the stairs to get into the store, which is underground. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I was immediately in view of the store, which is capacious, brightly lit, and well stocked. For a second I thought it might actually be a purveyor of new books, as my connotations of small, cramped, dimly lit used bookstores were emphatically contradicted. I was greeted by the sight of people of all ages, from children through to the elderly, sitting at tables happily reading books they had taken from the shelves right in front of me.
I had a look around the store and from what I could tell there were books of all kinds on the shelves.Sadly, there were not many English books, save a few copies of Harry Potter and a few other titles, as Aladin has not been open in Gwangju long. Hopefully they will eventually get a decent supply in though. Despite the lack of English books, I still really enjoyed having a look around the store. It made me happy to see that people still want to read physical books, even in Korea where everybody seems to be attached to a screen of some form or another, and wi-fi connections are in infinite supply. To know that there are stores like the one in Gwangju all over the country, which sound like they are doing a wonderful trade in used books, is heartening.
The store’s opening hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you are interested in selling your books, take them along to the store and see what kind of an offer they will give you. There are a few conditions though: the books have to be in good condition, be on their database (which is large), and you have to register on their website at used.aladin.co.kr (it is all in Korean). Please don’t forget about the GIC library and the regular book and bake sales though!